Much To Talk About- 42

#1. http://www.ranker.com/list/list-of-famous-archeologists/reference

I hate to break it to the list makers but maybe 2 of those people on the list are actually or were actually famous. One was an anthropologist not an archaeologist even though they place the word archaeologist beside her picture.

#16 & #17 are the only ones who could claim to be famous, the rest are far from any notoriety.  But that is the problem with making lists, someone will always disagree with the selections.

Remember, believers are not to elevate the human but be grateful to God that Christian men and women obeyed God and taught the truth. I do not see any Christians on that list even though there are many who participate in the field of archaeology so the criteria for inclusion is suspect.

#2. http://christiannews.net/2014/05/31/commission-upholds-order-that-christian-baker-must-make-cakes-for-gay-weddings/

The Colorado Civil Rights Commission has upheld an administrative judge’s ruling that a Christian baker in the state must service same-sex ‘weddings’ despite his biblical beliefs not to be a partaker in other men’s sins.

Do not be fooled. Unbelievers do NOT share the same ideas when it comes to sin and do not expect unbelievers to side with the believer when it means going against popular culture and standing alone against the majority.

However, after their arrival at the cake shop, Mullin and Craig were advised by owner Jack Phillips that he does not make cakes for same-sex ceremonies.

“My first comment was, ‘We’re getting married,’ and he just shut that down immediately,” Craig, 31, stated.

Homosexuals simply deceive themselves. They are not ‘getting married’ but going through a wedding ceremony and trying to convince themselves that they are married. The Christian baker did not shut down the same-sex couple’s plans, that is a distortion for they could always go to another baker to get their cake.

The homosexual delights in forcing people to do their bidding even though they would react angrily and hate it when they are forced to do something against their beliefs. One of the things that bothers me about this trend to support same-sex marriage. The supporters whine and cry about the rights of the homosexual being violated, etc., YET have no problem in violating the rights of those who disagree with the practice.

#3. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/exploringourmatrix/2014/05/blaming-the-bible.html

The above cartoon by David Hayward depicts people who long to come together, but the Bible shackles them and holds them back.

I don’t think this is what happens in most cases.

We recently saw a Southern Baptist pastor, Danny Cortez, change his mind about gays and lesbians (see also Matthew Vines’ book on the topic). While some Christians have spent much of their time slandering others, some within the same traditions have collaborated with those their fellow-religionists have slandered.

It isn’t slander to tell someone they are wrong and sinning. The Bible is not holding anyone back who agrees with it. The Bible brings the words of God to the people, those who cannot agree with those words will do anything to make the Bible the enemy and the above is a good example of that.

Those who accept alternatives to the biblical record and teaching do not get it. No matter what they do no matter what they claim about the Bible, the truth does not change and the message is clear. If you disagree with the Bible, it is not the Bible that is wrong.

#4. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/exploringourmatrix/2014/05/facts-should-change-your-beliefs.html

I obviously agree with the sentiment. No one should think that this stance is an atheist one. Certainly, many atheists are committed to being rational. But if you have talked to an atheist who is an anti-vaxxer or a Jesus-mythicist, then you realize the two are not synonymous. Likewise there is a long and rich history of liberal religion that was at the forefront of pioneering the changing of beliefs when facts and evidence required it.

The problem with this argument is that the alternative believer and the unbeliever use the word ‘facts’ as a one-way street–their way only.  They refuse to allow any facts to lead them to God or belief in his word.

They feel that no matter how flawed science is, how badly designed it is and no matter how many times scientists say ‘ we do not know’ people flock to science like it is an authority on everything. That is their mistake for science done wrong doesn’t bring facts but lies and unless you are cautious you could wind up accepting the wrong idea.

If you search the Bible, history, and other subjects you will find that the only item God bestowed authority on was the Bible.  Everything else is a simple tool to further men’s understanding of the world around us and not to usurp authority from the Bible

#5. http://ntweblog.blogspot.kr/2014/05/maurice-casey-1942-2014.html

I was so sad to hear of the death of Prof. Maurice Casey at the weekend (see JimWest, Dominic Mattos, Larry Hurtado, Jim Davila).  Anyone familiar with contemporary New Testament scholarship will know of the massive contribution that he has made.

Jim West likes to whine and complain that the deaths of scholars does not get the same press as the deaths of the fading sports star or celebrity. There is a simple reason for this fact–the scholar is usually very unknown, does nothing for the general population and by that I mean entertain or anything of that nature.

The scholar is usually locked away in their ivory towers pontificating on minute unimportant details of either biblical verses or languages. The circles they are known in are usually very small and populated by elitists or scholars and their influence is just as limited as there is another scholar just down the way disagreeing with his points of view.

In other words, the fading sports star or celebrity touches the lives of many even though they do not personally know any of those they have influenced. The scholar may know his students but his students are few and so he does not touch or influence the lives of the masses.

Also, the scholar may be advocating false teaching which makes him a false teacher and that is not a status one praises or idolizes.

#6. http://jamestabor.com/2014/05/30/remembering-servetus-and-the-one-god-movement-among-evangelical-christians/

In fact there is a growing “biblical unitarian” or “One God” movement that is making significant inroads within a variety of evangelical Christian circles. See the following links for a few examples:

Be careful when people claim to be a member of your faith yet bring in false teaching to the church or your attention.  Just because they claim to be evangelical or Christian doesn’t mean they have not been put on the road of deception and are not being deceived.

He was born in Spain in 1511 and died in 1553, at age 42, burnt at the stake as a heretic by John Calvin’s Geneva Council. He was a brilliant scientist and his field was primarily medicine, but it was his theological views that led to his universal condemnation by both Catholics and Protestants… Servetus has even penetrated the Evangelical Christian world a bit after 500 years. Pro-Golfer and Evangelical writer Kermit Zarley, under the pen name of  “Servetus the Evangelical,” published a book titled The Restitution of Jesus Christ. You can visit his website at servetustheevangelist.com. Zarley’s work is impressive, all 600 pages.

If it disagrees with the Bible then it is not correct and you are to dismiss it.

Why?

This is a question all people must ask concerning this surge in support for same-sex marriage. This has been a question on my mind for some time and finally the article at the following link has spurred me to write about it.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/ex-southern-baptist-church-to-host-same-sex-wedding-ceremonies-in-kentucky-where-its-illegal-120636/

An ex-Southern Baptist church in rural Kentucky will host same-sex wedding ceremonies despite gay marriage being illegal in the state.

Deacons at Louisville’s Highland Baptist Church recently voted to marry same-sex couples who are members of the church. However, senior Pastor Joe Phelps says the decision was made without the vote of the congregation.

“Part of the mission of Deacons at Highland Baptist Church is discernment, where an elected body of members serves as a voice for the congregation and sounding board for the staff on issues important to the life of the church. It was in this role that the Deacons voted to approve the request instead of taking the issue to the church for a vote. This is within their rights and responsibilities as elected leaders within the life of the church,” Phelps told The Christian Post in a written statement.

The decision was announced through the church’s online newsletter in which the board of deacons said they have also elected gay and lesbian individuals to serve as deacons and have welcomed gay members as teachers and leaders throughout the congregation. Furthermore, they also noted that they have performed dedication ceremonies for babies of same sex couples.

Homosexuality does not bring freedom from sin; does not relieve people from their burdens; it does not bring peace to the world; it does not bring salvation or an eternal home, so we must ask why are so many people, governments, politicians, celebrities acting like homosexuality and same-sex marriage is the second coming of Christ?

Why are they bending over backwards trying to appease a small group of people who have nothing to offer anyone? Why are they fighting so hard to grant this small group of people benefits that are NOT a part of the homosexual lifestyle?

It can’t be solely for the sake of equal rights as the homosexual already has the same rights as heterosexuals. They even have access to marriage and children yet so many want to spoil this small group by making it possible for them to obtain what they honestly and completely rejected by pursuing the homosexual preference.

It can’t be to obey scripture which says ‘do unto others…’ as the homosexual had the opportunity to marry an opposite sex mate and have their own offspring. No one has denied them that right and no one has twisted their arm, (save maybe other homosexuals), to choose to live the homosexual lifestyle.

To fulfill that verse literally and not be hypocritical people then must grant marriage rights to bigamists and other non-traditional marriage alternatives. They can no longer oppose the religious faiths that preach that men can have multiple wives because they have allowed an alternative to be included in the institution of marriage for no real reason.

This means that the Mormon Church could bring back its marriage ideology and not lose out on any federal government handout or rights. Pandora’s box has been opened and there is no real reason to oppose other non-traditional marriage options within reason of course. But then reason is what opened that door and now made it almost impossible to stop anyone from marrying whatever they choose.

In the government’s and politicians’ case, their motivation is political and diplomatic. No one would risk their careers if it were only the homosexual vote they were after. That group is too small in most areas to affect voting but the group who supports the homosexual community yet are not homosexual is quite large and could affect voting results.

Yet for the believer, this motivation doesn’t work because Christians belong to a different kingdom and gathering votes doesn’t work for they do not run that kingdom and the rules are quite firm and inflexible. For believers their kingdom has defined homosexuality and  same-sex marriage as sin and wrong, there is nothing can be done to change that, so the Christian does not benefit from supporting homosexuals in their demands.

In fact, they run the risk of being punished by their leader–God if they do. So why do so many ‘Christians’ jump on this band-wagon and support something that is wrong?  Could it be that they have strayed so far from the truth that they no longer view God as their leader but as some out of touch tyrant?

Hard to say what their motivation is for it certainly is not love to encourage people to continue to practice sin when their very God and Holy Bible says to save people from their sins. It is not love to encourage and support people to disobey God and have them face punishment needlessly.

Nor is it love to allow people to partake in an activity that does not belong to their preference. Marriage was and is not part of the homosexual lifestyle. It was given to heterosexuals only. The same for children. The reasons homosexuality is called abnormal is because it is abnormal and does not possess certain benefits that normal life does.

No one has been given the authority to bestow those benefits upon a group of people who have rejected the right way to obtain those benefits. People have usurped that authority but it was not granted to them.

So again, we must ask why. Why do so many people decide to disobey God in order to appease a small group of people by fulfilling their selfish and spoiled demands?  Why are those people who call themselves Christian so eager to ignore what God has said is wrong and seek to champion the cause of those who have those rights but refuse to act on them the correct way?

Then we must ask– Why do so many people go against the very God who has created them, fed them, nurtured them, granted large amounts of freedom, had his son die for them in order for them to receive salvation and live eternally in order to gain favor from those who have nothing to offer anyone, live in sin and are only selfishly seeking their own lusts?

Think about it and do it thoroughly, carefully for you do need to decide whose side you are on and then act accordingly. We can still love the homosexual as Christ loves them without granting them benefits they are not supposed to enjoy. Love does not mean we spoil and give them everything they demand. Love stops people from destroying themselves. It does not encourage or support destruction.

The Gay Christian Argument

For those who already accept alternatives to scripture in cases like creation (Gen. 1 &2), Noah’s Flood (Gen. 6-9) and other scriptural events it is no stretch for  them to accept the idea that there are Christians who are homosexual. It doesn’t bother them to ignore biblical teaching on the subject as they are used to doing that and have silenced any guilt about doing so which may cause them to reconsider their rejection of the truth.

B.L. Corey is no exception to that group as he has put out a new article proclaiming that homosexuals are Christian. I use the word homosexual because the distortion of English words like gay, fag and faggot and their definitions are covering up the reality of the topic.

I find nothing happy about homosexuality but then I do not consider them cigarettes or small sticks either. An examination of his points is needed here and starting with the title of the article (after posting the link)

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/formerlyfundie/some-things-to-consider-if-you-think-being-gay-is-a-sin/

#1. Some things to consider if you think being gay is a sin

It isn’t that people think homosexuality is a sin it is that GOD declares it a sin and that its adherents will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. There is no human agenda being carried out via a multi-thousand year conspiracy against the worldwide homosexual community that is trying to deprive the homosexual of a place in heaven.

There is a call for homosexuals to repent of their sins, including the practice of homosexuality, and be saved in order for them to enter the kingdom of God. Alternative thinking people fail to grasp this fact in their haste to look ‘inclusive’ and not offend those who wish to disobey God.

#2. Please consider that regardless of whether you’re able to fully accept this or not, there are gay Christians.

If they are still practicing their preferred sexual preference and claim to be Christian then they lie and call God a liar. 1 John 1 illuminates this better than I

⁵ This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; ⁷ but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. (NASB)

At no time has God changed his mind about practicing homosexuals, even though they may claim to be Christian. If the homosexual has successfully repented of his sinful preference then he is no longer a homosexual but a Christian who has been redeemed from his sinful life.

You can’t keep the labels from the old life and bring them forward into the new. Whether they are changed into practicing heterosexuals  or not is a matter between them and God. What has happened is that they are free from the sin of homosexuality and are no more a homosexual than a heterosexual is.

If they have no desire to mate with an opposite sex person then they are not homosexual Christians but celibate believers. The term homosexual no longer applies to them.

#3. This isn’t just a “concept” or an inanimate object– these are real live Christian brothers and sisters that deserve every bit of love and empathy as anyone else.

This is a moot point and a desperation move. The fact that they are real humans means they deserve to be respected and told the truth about their standing with God. To lie to them is not helping them but just another form of deception and deceiving humans is not of God but evil.

The rules do not change because homosexuals are real humans.

#4. People created in the image and likeness of God. People with feelings, passions, hopes, and dreams

This point ignores the fact that humans have freedom to choose. If they choose to remain homosexual, if they have not been given over to that lust, then they have no complaint. They have chosen evil over God and his ways. Being created in the image of God doesn’t negate such choices or the repercussions that come with that choice.

God has laid out very clearly what is or isn’t sin and what happens to unrepented sinners. This includes the practice of homosexuality as God has not sprung some change of mind upon humans in the past year  and made homosexuality wrong after millenia of approving it.

Sodom and Gomorrah was left as an example for all people to learn from and he disproved of homosexuality long before that incident of destruction. God has been very open about his views of homosexuality, it has not been a secret thus those deciding they are homosexual need to think twice and weigh the evidence of God’s feelings first before ‘coming out’ or choosing that sexual preference.

#5. Please become willing to reexamine what the Bible teaches on homosexuality.

Believers do not have to do this for once one finds the truth, they do not have to re-examine anything again. They have found the truth and stick with that. The truth about homosexuality is that it is a sin and its adherents will see hell not heaven.

#6. Matthew is a conservative evangelical who writes from a conservative evangelical perspective, and does an outstanding job at showing that there is a very legitimate, alternate understanding of some of these texts. When considering any issue, it is important to take into account and give an honest ear to all sides of an issue. Rarely has a conservative evangelical done what Vines has done

Corey fails to tell you that Vines is also a practicing homosexual and that his arguments do not hold up against real spiritual examination. At least according to the reviews I have read the past few weeks on this book.

#7. Even if you don’t agree with Matthew in the end, his book will help you to realize that many people affirm monogamous, same-sex marriage without discarding the Bible.

Of course, a monogamous committed marriage is not one of the criteria for salvation. It is a command by God on how to live one’s married life. Yet, whenever the Bible speaks on marriage it is always about heterosexual unions and never includes same-sex unions.

When God created marriage, he did not include same-sex unions as part of that creation. We read the following in Genesis

²⁷ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, (Ch. 1 NASB)

²⁰ The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the ^[q]sky, and to every beast of the field, but for ^[r]Adam there was not found a helper ^[s]suitable for him. ²¹ So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. ²² The Lord God ^[t]fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. ²³ The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
^[u]She shall be called ^[v]Woman,
Because ^[w]she was taken out of ^[x]Man.”

²⁴ For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. ²⁵ And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. (Ch. 2 NASB)

¹⁸ So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him (Ch 8 NASB)

And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. (Ch. 9 NASB)

You are discarding the Bible if you can support any type of same-sex union. God did not bless it, he did not allow its practice.

#8. Please consider that we treat our gay brothers and sisters differently than everyone else, and even if you’re right– this behavior is wrong.

Who is Corey to say what is right or wrong behavior concerning the homosexual or other sinners? Obviously God said ‘Be holy for he is holy’ but that doesn’t mean that we ignore sin and allow its practitioners into the congregation of God. Nor does it mean that we do not punish sin.

It does mean that we practice  exclusive membership like God does. Unrepentant sinners are not included in the Church membership or leadership. They are not to be accepted as followers of God for they are not. Corey’s point

 Still, you face a cultural issue that one should find appalling– the fact that we’ve basically forced gay Christians to go out and get their own churches instead of being welcomed at ours.

Doesn’t hold water because unrepentant homosexuals are not part of the family of God. It doesn’t matter that they have to organize their own churches because those churches are a doing nothing but letting sin abound. They are not real churches but a means for stubborn, disobedient people trying to ignore God’s rules concerning who belongs in his kingdom.

Homosexuals are only fooling themselves if they think they are Christian while still practicing sin. There is nothing found in the bible where having a church and singing hims changes God’s rules about his kingdom and makes homosexuality acceptable to God.

True believers do not welcome sin into the church for that would be disobeying God

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! (Is 5:20 NASB)

Seek good and not evil, that you may live; And thus may the Lord God of hosts be with you, Just as you have said! (Amos 5:14 NASB)

Here is a link to 4 pages talking about evil and good:

http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/?search=evil+good&searchtype=all&version1=NASB&language1=en&spanbegin=1&spanend=73

Homosexuality has not been changed from evil to good by God thus it remains in the evil category and it needs to be removed from the Church and the congregation, yet removal does not mean we inflict evil upon those practicing homosexuality. That would be sin and disobedience to God. We still treat homosexuals like God would want, they are just not invited into the church members nor can hold leadership positions.

They also cannot be called Christians, believers or any other term that reflects the idea they are part of God’s kingdom.

#9. Please consider that the cultural obsession with homosexuality within the American Church is detracting from the things Jesus asked us to do.

Jesus did not ask, command or teach anyone to accept homosexuality and its adherents into the church nor did he change God’s labeling it sin. You will find no biblical teaching that changes homosexuality from evil to good, from rejected to accepted status. The only people doing that are homosexuals and those people who reject God’s truth in favor of alternatives to biblical teaching.

⁷ just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after ^[g]strange flesh, are exhibited as an ^[h]example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. (Jude 1 NASB)

This example has not been changed by God. No man has a right nor the authority to change it. Secular cultural acceptance of homosexuality doesn’t change this example either. Instead, said acceptance is evidence for disobeying God and such people are not to be followed or listened to.

Corey cannot accept homosexuals into the family of God because he does not out rank God. He cannot change the status of homosexuality or its adherents nor can he use ‘love’ or ’empathy’ to change their status for love disciplines wrong doing not rewards it and empathy is not capable of changing God’s rules.

His pleas in his article need to fall on deaf ears as he makes no biblical case for his argument and he cannot show in the Bible where God changed the status of homosexuality and homosexuals. God hasn’t changed his mind, homosexuality is still sin, Sodom and Gomorrah are still examples for what happens to unrepentant adherents of homosexuality and the church cannot accept homosexuals into their midst as members of God’s family for they are not a brother or sister in Christ.

Homosexuals are not Christian and homosexuality will always be sin.

Men & Women

We all know that some men can be inconsiderate towards women and the following article records some women’s point of view on this matter

http://rachelheldevans.com/blog/yesallwomen-i-will-not-be-silent-anymore-by-teresa-k-pecinovsky

But when it comes to relationship topics men and women rarely see eye to eye and the discussions are not the easiest to endure or participate in. Women do have some legitimate complaints

I still remember one of the last e-mails he sent me.  It was very sexually explicit, it involved me, and reading it made me want to throw up.

I remember some years ago where one lady was complaining to me about how sexually explicit a lot of men were and she was wondering where was God in helping her find the right man.  She seemed relieved when I told her that God was showing her the men she shouldn’t be with. Some men, even Christian ones, can be in sexual overdrive and it is disgusting to hear how lacking in godly leadership many christian men have become.

Using the Bible for sexual relief is not a godly way to be with a woman.  Christian men have to lead the way in what is right or the relationship may be headed for trouble.  Christian men have to be strong because the family is important to God and he has put men in charge of the family.

That election provides men with certain responsibilities that need to be met and carried out each day.  It is a shame on the church and Christ when Christian men talk and act worse toward women than secular men.

What I have described is my story, but it’s the story of so many other women (and men) who have been manipulated and abused by those we trusted most—ministers of God.  It took me a long time to realize that sexual abuse was truly the correct term for what happened.

This is a problem in relationships. Some men and many women like to change the definition of words and distort what really took place. They also forget to see things from all sides of the issue and blindly side with women based solely upon their word.

We know this is true because many innocent men have been released from prison by different organizations like Project Innocence who have wrongfully been convicted merely upon the accusation of a woman.

Yes abuse happens but we need to make sure it is really abuse or sexual harassment before making such charges. The idea that it is how the comments are perceived is wrong. Such thinking removes the responsibility of making sure one does not misunderstand the intent of the person speaking.

Using secular ideas and thinking is something both Christian men and women do and those couples encounter more problems in their relationships than they should. Those problems are their own creation as well.

 I was abused by a minister and professor, and I will not be silent anymore.

In reading her story I would disagree with her assessment of what took place. She was not abused but she seems to want to play the victim so the word ‘abuse’ fits her strategy.  She did misunderstand what the professor said to her

The more research I did, the more I realized that clergy abuse is a rampant plague within our churches

This is a yes and no situation as well. Yes some clergy do abuse members of their congregation for many different reasons but it isn’t for a guest spot on a misguided ‘blog’ to talk about it. Then there is the No side of this issue. Some people just do not listen to good counsel and the ministerial staff get frustrated as they see their charges continue down the road to destruction.

Sometimes they take strong measures to get the members back in line and those strong measures are often mis-interpreted  by female observers.

When a minister has a sexual relationship with a member of the church, it’s not an affair—it’s abuse.

It is words like this and the following

When a professor takes advantage of a student and sends sexually suggestive messages, it’s not a gray area in academia—it’s abuse.  

that convince me that the author does not know what she is talking about and is being unfair in her judgment concerning the actions of ministers or professors. Her sweeping generalities wipe out any legitimate explanation for what has taken place and labeled all according to her own ideas. Yet she isn’t God, nor are other women who side with her, thus her definitions may not be right nor just.

Even when bad things happen between men and women, we still need to be honest and just when dealing with those situations. Couples need to fight the temptation to hurt the other person and be biblical when they fight or encounter sexually explicit moments.

This is why the Bible is so important. Too often those who claim to be offended or abused, are misguided in their accusations and rely upon human thinking to guide them through their ‘ordeal’.  The Bible puts the eyes of men and women on what is right or wrong and it drives people’s opinion to God’s thinking and standard for relationships between men and women.

The Bible helps men and women keep a clear head and hopefully leads them to realize how far off the mark they have tread and they regret what they have said to or about the other. The Bible leads men and women to the right way to handle their relationships but again, men should take the lead after all they are the heads of the family.

Men should show women that they do adhere to God’s way and do not let the world influence them to wrongful behavior in relationships. Women need to realize that men are not perfect and will not always be mature Christians when they become friends with the opposite sex and that they will not always be treated as they wish.

They need to respond in a Christian manner as well, not a secular one.  They need to not make false charges and not distort definitions of certain words in order to ‘get even’ or some other mischievous goal that is on their minds.

Christian relationships are a two-way street and Christ and his words should be governing them not secular ideology.

¹⁷ So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, ¹⁸ being darkened in their understanding, ^[m]excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; ¹⁹ and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality ^[n]for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. ²⁰ But you did not learn ^[o]Christ in this way, ²¹ if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, ²² that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old ^[p]self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, ²³ and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, ²⁴ and put on the new ^[q]self, which ^[r]in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. (Eph. 4 NASB)

I have found redemption in the darkest season of my life, and freedom in my call to ministry

These last few words trouble me as one needs to ask, when it comes to ministry, when did God change his rules? and What type of ministry do they think God is calling them? If you read the words prior to that quote you would understand why I ask these questions

When a professor takes advantage of a student and sends sexually suggestive messages, it’s not a gray area in academia—it’s abuse.  If you are reading this and have been abused, you are not alone.  You are not at fault.  You are loved by God.

because the example in that post she provides shows a very biased and closed-minded ministry that seeks to label everything that men do as wrong and allows for no legitimate defense from the men. The words ‘you are not at fault’ places all the blame on the men even tough the men may not have been at fault as the relationship may have been started by the woman.

This is one of the problems in relationships and which is fueled by very misguided women who claim to be ‘survivors of abuse’, etc., that is all they see and they only hold men responsible. That is not Christian ministry but vindictiveness and sinful  leading of others. It is also very immature and not spiritually led.

This tells us that the woman author sees the same intent in all men that was supposedly in the man she claimed abused her. That is not Christian but very biased and dishonest counsel.

Being wise is very important but wisdom needs honesty, understanding and forgiveness to guide it, among other positive characteristics.  Hate, suspicion, sweeping generalities, bias and other negatives are not part of Christian counseling. That is what that author is advocating, the latter not the former.

My point is, men and women need to listen to good counsel from very and true Christian leaders not the ramblings of women who reject God’s ways and side with secular ideologies like feminism, how it is perceived and many other dangerous ideas that damage the potential family and the family itself.

Putting Holes In Arguments- 2

One of the big mistakes made by evolutionists and big bang theorists is that they use design or how things are to work as evidence for origination.  It just doesn’t work. For an example let’s look at the car.

Its design allows it to run yet no one would seriously consider that the parts of the car somehow, randomly came together and fit perfectly in place enabling the car to turn itself on and run down the road.

The design came from some intelligent being who thought it all through, determined where the pieces go and put them together with hands on work.  Yet the car in perfect running order does not provide any evidence for its origination and construction.

Without a manual to describe how the parts fit together, people can only theorize as to which part came first, first car came first and any old forgotten  pieces found in the ground also do not provide any evidence for design or origination.

All these items show is that someone took the time to figure out how to design a car and put one together so that it ran well.

The same goes for life and the universe.  How these two items run do not provide evidence for origination. They just point to the fact that someone thought it all through and put all the parts together  in order that they run well.

Origination has its own evidence and for life and the universe that evidence is found in the Bible, nowhere else.  Creation was a one-time only, supernatural work and the only evidence is found by revelation not by how things were designed to work.

Design does not equal origination. Evidence for design does not equal evidence for origination.  Going back to the analogy of the car, the evidence for putting a car together is not the same as how it is designed to run.

For the former, you need tools, raw materials, thought, hard work and for the latter you just need to study the design to see how it is supposed to work.  This is why fossils fail to support evolution. Fossils are not evidence for origination, they are only evidence for design. There is nothing in fossils that points to God’s creative work. What is found in fossils is how God designed each creature to function and look.

Back to cars, the design can only imply how it was made, what hard work went into making it and some idea of the amount of thought it took to design the vehicle and that is about it. Nothing points to how the car makers gathered the materials, shaped the parts, the time it took to design the parts and put them altogether and so on,

Modern scientists cannot see evidence for God’s creative work because there has been thousands of years of life & sin covering up any evidence that may have existed. They can only imply how things were made based upon design but that leaves lots of room for error.

Evolutionists and big bang theorists are in total error not even close to what took place because they are deceived, blind and looking in the wrong places for their answers. They cannot figure out origins based upon design because design is not the same as origins.

How a car runs is not the same work as the work that goes into putting the pieces together and making the car run.

 

Putting Holes In Arguments

The following link may read like a good argument but it has one major flaw

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/exploringourmatrix/2014/05/post-flood-miracle.html

It is an image so I won’t copy and paste it here. Most people would think that the anti-flood people may have a point but where the foul up is in using the word ‘migration’.

Normal migration takes place over and over year after year and animals may die along the way. Whereas the Biblical migration happened ONCE. We do not even know if any of the migrating animals even died along the trail. There would be no bones to find to prove the migration.

Most likely they didn’t as they had whole new areas to populate. But you see, the anti-biblical crowd do not think about these things. They use modern examples that do not apply and do not take the time to think these things through.

Their minds get clouded by superficial words and try to apply normal  activities to special circumstances and it just doesn’t work. They ignore the fact that God had a plan for those animals and knew where he wanted them to be so he guided them to their new living area.

The opponents of the Bible like to leave God out of the picture but you can’t do that–God was and is involved in the world whether unbelievers like it or not.

Qualifications

Jim West is off on another tirade as he thinks he alone gets to say who is or isn’t qualified to talk about the bible. He puts up a series of posts on this and the first one is his most ridiculous and mean

http://zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com/2014/05/26/allow-me-to-be-uncharacteristically-blunt/

No discipline in the entire world is subjected to the rampant rank stupidity that biblical scholarship is by people who are deeply ignorant and who actually in their hearts totally believe that ‘any point of view is equally valid’ when it comes to Scripture.

In everyday life we all run into people like West. They think they get to say whose opinion is valid and who is qualified to speak about biblical things. Of course, they think they know everything about the Bible and are judge jury and executioner of all things biblical.

We believers have to treat these ‘know-it-alls’ with patience,knowing that they are the first in line when it comes to not knowing what the Bible says.

The Bible is more complex than the stupid imagine.  And the moronic plunge in, fish around, grab a thought at random, and parade it as though they had discovered Uranus.  In truth, the only thing they have discovered is their own anus.

No, people like West seem to need to justify their existence by making something more difficult than it really is. The Bible is only complicated if you do not have the Holy Spirit guiding you to the truth of what scripture says.

I do not know who West thinks he is but it isn’t how he pictures himself. If he had his own church he would be a cult leader, dismissing and banning anyone who dared disagreed with his point of view.

http://zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com/2014/05/26/quote-of-the-day-511/

“To pretend that you have to have a degree to be able to read the Bible is academic elitism.” —  Jessica Parks (on the twitter).

OF COURSE IT IS!!!!!   The Bible was written BY the ELITE FOR the ELITE.  Acting as if the historical truth lie elsewhere really is unfortunately a-historical and ultimately ignorant.

Those who have the strange idea that the Bible was written by unlearned peasants sitting around desks and sucking down the cheapest wine they could get their hands on flies in the face of the way things were in the ancient world.  The Bible was composed by elite elitists for their comrades who were equally elite.

He is wrong of course but again people like West want to think more of themselves than they really are.  There is nothing in the Bible which supports West’s point of view. IN fact in Revelation we read these words over and over– ‘he who has ears let him hear’.

It is not written–‘He knows an elite needs to go to the elite to hear’. But the above demonstrates the ownership attitude people like West have. They think they own the Bible and it is their little toy to play with and he is very wrong.

You will also notice that Jesus taught the unlearned and the learned and it was many of the learned who did not grasp what He taught.

http://zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com/2014/05/26/the-dimwittery/

She is neither biblical scholar nor theologian.  She doesn’t know the difference between a Greek verb and a Hebrew noun, and yet, she’s applauded by the intellectual elite only, evidently, because she is a rampant feminist and supporter of gay marriage…

I normally would never cite Wikipedia because it is generally a source that is completely unreliable.  But in the case of Evans, holder of a Bachelor’s Degree from Bryan College (yes, that Bryan – the one despised by the Left) in English Lit, it seems strikingly appropriate.

In some cases people who only hold a bachelor’s degree would not be able to speak on the bible but God uses whom he chooses though those people would not say things contrary to God’s word nor support sin.

One doesn’t have to be a multi-degreed ‘scholar’ to know what the Bible is saying, all they have to do is listen to God, do their studying and look for the truth. Yet one can’t really speak as an expert on the Bible if they hold to alternatives and allow for false teaching into their lives.

You will find that the Bible does not say go get many degrees and be theologically correct before you speak on the Bible . It does say to study it, to learn it and to be humble along with many other good words of guidance. It does not say that the Bible is the possession of those who spend their lives getting many degrees or consider themselves the elite.

The Bible is written for all people not a few. West’s attitude smacks of the medieval  Roman Catholic priests who thought only they could understand the Bible and explain it to the unwashed masses. But again, we need to follow the guidelines set out in the Bible such as true and false teaching and West falls into the latter category.

http://zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com/2014/05/26/in-which-alastairs-comment-on-rachel-held-evans-is-elevated-to-a-post-of-its-own/

This link goes to a quoted passage West puts up though the words aren’t his. I included it because it does present a good perspective on Rachel Held Evans. Even though I do not care about her degree credentials, she does fall into the false teacher category because she holds to views that God said to stay away from and were wrong.

She also supports sin and claims God is wrong. The question for both West and Evans is–why are they claiming to follow God when they do not agree with what he said?

http://zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com/2014/05/26/scholarship-and-the-holy-spirit/

I totally reject the false teaching that the spirit is not active in scholarship. The implied dichotomy is untrue and blasphemous.

If the scholar is a true Christian the Holy Spirit is active in scholarship but if they are not, and West is not, then he is missing out on what the Holy Spirit can lead him to and teach him.

The qualifications needed to be a speaker on the Bible and biblical issues are as follows:

1. Be a true believer

2. Be humble and possess fruits of the Spirit

3. Be obedient to God

4. Listen to and follow the Holy Spirit

5. Study (does not have to be formal study)

6. Discern between true and false teaching and go with the former.

7. Believe and accept all of the Bible not just the parts you like

This list is good for a start and will get you on track to being a true speaker of the word. You do not have to be an elite or a scholar nor do you have to reject parts of the Bible because there is no physical evidence. You need to have faith.

To be a good speaker on the Bible you need to follow it and implement what Jesus wants in your life. West, Evans and others like them do not do this so do not listen or follow them.